About Maria Pacillo

My name is Maria Pacillo and I was born in Belleville, New Jersey into a large Italian family. I spent many summers at the Jersey shore and zeppoles were a childhood favorite. The irresistible smell and taste of freshly baked zeppoles became closely associated with good times spent with my family and friends at the beach.

After I married my high school sweetheart and had my three daughters, I perfected my love of cooking and baking. I went to work in the food service industry and I eventually began a successful catering business. Using my longtime family recipes, my business took off.

After the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, I was committed to supporting the rebuilding efforts at the WTC. I served breakfast and lunch to hundreds of workers at Ground Zero. After a dozen years of early mornings and raising my family, I decided to try something new and Boardwalk Zeppoles were born.